Pogačar a class apart in stunning battle among the ‘big five’ as he takes third Tour of Flanders win
CyclingSunday, 05 April 2026 at 16:46
Tadej Pogačar has won the Tour of Flanders for the third time. After a race that burst into life with more than 100 kilometres still to go, fans were treated to a magnificent battle between the sport’s ‘big five’. In the end, however, the world champion once again proved far too strong on the Oude Kwaremont, riding clear of Mathieu van der Poel, who finished second. Remco Evenepoel impressed on his debut by taking third.
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The Tour of Flanders was hardly short of stars on the start line. For the first time in team colours, Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Remco Evenepoel were all set to face one another in a one-day race. Evenepoel in particular was a surprise inclusion, having only confirmed his participation on Wednesday.
There was every reason to expect fireworks, but the star-studded line-up was not the only talking point before the start. The weather in Flanders can be unpredictable, and Sunday came with warnings of wind as well. Echelons were considered a possibility early on, while the conditions were also expected to influence the race later in the day. The riders were alert from the very beginning.
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The hill phase was still a long way off, yet the nerves were already obvious from the start in Antwerp. In fact, things were so tense that Rui Oliveira of UAE Team Emirates-XRG hit the deck after barely five metres in the neutral zone, in a bizarre early incident before the real start had even been given. Once the flag finally dropped, the first attacks came quickly, though it took a long time before a breakaway was properly established. Rui Oliveira crashes just metres after unofficial Tour of Flanders start gives more detail on that chaotic opening.
Read on below the video!
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Large break goes clear with two Dutch riders
It took almost three quarters of an hour before a group finally managed to go clear. Thirteen riders eventually forced the move of the day, including Dutchmen Julius van den Berg of Picnic PostNL, who had launched the first attack, and Hartthijs de Vries of Unibet Tietema Rockets. They were joined by Belgians Luca Van Boven of Lotto-Intermarché, Dries De Pooter of Jayco AlUla, Frederik Frison of Q36.5 and Victor Vercouille of Flanders-Baloise.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Visma | Lease a Bike and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe did not have anyone in that move, but Alpecin-Premier Tech had sent Silvan Dillier up the road. That made Van der Poel the only top favourite with a team-mate in front. The leaders built up a healthy advantage, although UAE soon put riders on the front of the peloton to keep things under control.
After an hour and a half of racing, the peloton was suddenly split in two, not by wind or by an acceleration but by a railway crossing. Half the bunch was caught behind the barriers. Van der Poel and Van Aert were among those delayed, though the front part of the peloton was later brought to a halt and the dropped riders were allowed back on. The incident gave the break almost two extra minutes of breathing room. For the wider fallout, see UCI commissaire calls for disqualifications after railway-crossing incident: ‘Closed railway crossing means stop’.
Read on below the video!
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First cobbles, climbs and raindrops
That development caused frustration at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who had already been riding on the front for some time. Pogačar’s support riders knew they would now have to work harder and longer to bring the break back. By then rain had also arrived, though only briefly. The question became whether a wet finale was on the way, or whether the cobbles would remain mostly dry.
The first cobbled sector came before the climbing phase had truly begun. Fortunately, the Paddestraat was in good condition. There was a brief split in the peloton, but that was quickly closed down. The first passage of the Oude Kwaremont was approaching, and while the feared echelons never really materialised, the tension rose steadily as the famous climb came into view.
At that point the race had reached its halfway stage, and that meant the calm before the storm. Or rather, as calm as it can ever be on the Oude Kwaremont. The huge crowds saw the peloton crest the climb still together, but it was only the beginning. The climbs began to follow each other in rapid succession from there: the Eikenberg, the Wolvenberg and much more besides. The race was ready to ignite.
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Read on below the video!
Molenberg sparks the first real split
The first real attack from the peloton came on the Wolvenberg, where Romain Grégoire of Groupama-FDJ tried to shake things up. It did not come to much, but it was the first clear warning sign. Then the narrow Molenberg created even more chaos. Florian Vermeersch of UAE hit the front hard, the bunch split, and suddenly an elite group had formed at the head of the race. The ‘big five’ were all there, along with roughly a dozen other top riders.
Among those also present were Jasper Stuyven of Soudal Quick-Step, Rick Pluimers of Tudor, Tim van Dijke of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe and Christophe Laporte of Visma | Lease a Bike. That group quickly distanced the chasing outsiders. Was the decisive selection already being made? By then the rain had returned as well, and this time it was a serious downpour. It did not last long, but it raised a fresh question: would the next cobbles be dry or treacherously slick?
Those cobbles came on the approach to the Berg ten Houte. Before the foot of that demanding climb, the favourites’ group had already made contact with the remnants of the breakaway. Their advantage over the peloton had grown to around a minute and a half. A few of the early escapees were dropped on the Berg ten Houte, nothing happened on the Oude Kruisberg, and so all eyes turned to the second passage of the Oude Kwaremont.
Read on below the video!
Pogačar drops the first real bomb on the Kwaremont
Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe used Tim van Dijke and Gianni Vermeersch to set the pace for Evenepoel, but Pogačar launched his move even before the cobbles began. Van Aert reacted, as did Mads Pedersen and Evenepoel. Van der Poel had to slalom his way forward but still managed to close the gap. Pedersen was dropped and Evenepoel struggled too, though the Belgian was able to fight his way back.
But the Kwaremont is relentless. Van Aert began to crack and watched Van der Poel and Evenepoel come past him. The gap was still small over the top, but on the false flat afterwards he saw it growing all the time. The strongest three riders were now out front and immediately tackled the Paterberg, where Evenepoel in turn found himself in difficulty. He too had to chase back, and the Belgian continued to suffer once the road flattened out.
He had still not made it back by the foot of the feared Koppenberg. Pogačar was ruthless and refused to let him return. Yet on the steepest climb of the day, Van der Poel held firm to his Slovenian rival’s wheel and showed no sign of cracking, even as the gap to the chasers kept growing. Evenepoel remained only a handful of seconds behind after the Koppenberg, but never quite managed to rejoin. Behind him, Van Aert and Pedersen had linked up, though they were already a minute down on the two leaders.
Read on below the video!
Could Van der Poel still hold on at the Kwaremont?
On the Taaienberg, the gap to Evenepoel grew once more. Fifteen seconds still looked bridgeable, but it was above all Pogačar who made sure the Belgian did not come back. The Oude Kruisberg brought the leaders even more of an advantage. Van der Poel was still following, but he was clearly under pressure. The Oude Kwaremont was still to come, and Pogačar looked to be at his very best.
Just as he had done on the second passage of the Kwaremont, Pogačar accelerated before the first cobbles, and this time it was too much for Van der Poel. The gap opened immediately, and the higher they climbed, the wider it became. But Van der Poel did not crack as badly as he had a year earlier. At the summit, the difference was only around five seconds. It was a battle on the Kwaremont unlike almost any we had seen before.
After the top, however, the world champion still had another acceleration in reserve. The Paterberg followed quickly and the gap stretched a little further. Van der Poel’s final chance lay on the flat run to Oudenaarde, but there too Pogačar was simply on another level: 20 seconds, 30, 40. The Slovenian claimed his third Tour of Flanders title, ahead of Van der Poel. Evenepoel came home a fine third on debut, while Van Aert and Pedersen had to settle for fourth and fifth.
Results Tour of Flanders 2026, men
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Latest Comments
- Rider X, y and z? Could you update?yaNzKEWL21-03-2026
- Can anyone help me understand the thinking behind the two punishments? Are the commissaires saying you get thrown out of the race for a second inadvertent disposal of a bidon (even to the delight of fans) but that as long as you can afford it you can show off your phalangeal cuticles all day long on international TV? Aking for a friend.packfiller7112-03-2026
- It's a bit embarrassing that. Isn't the main sponsor supposed to keep them at 36.5 ?tomjacques03-03-2026
- They were close to cracking a very tired Tadej that wasn't fully focused on the TdF with a team of riders focused solely on cracking Tadej. And if they cracked him, he would have still won. Tadej won't be racing the giro this year. It'll be an even easier win for him.Veganpotter09-02-2026
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
- Those events are mental rest for him. Fun, without expectations. *Sagan lost his abilities because he gained weight and got lazy. Pogi will likely retire before that has a chance at happening.Veganpotter14-12-2025
- Ah, the consequences of riding for Israel.Veganpotter11-12-2025
- Pidcock could follow everyone but Pogi while finishing 3rd. No second place rider this season😃Veganpotter16-11-2025
- Now the Palestinian protestors can stop their whining. Trump came to the rescue. So they can now STFU and go back to waving the rainbow flags.raufus15-10-2025
- Cracked the code lol. If it was that easy to 'crack the code' jonny Vegas would be charging up the Kwaremont giving Pog a dose of his medicine. Evenepoel can't match pog on a climb and neither can mvdp. Anything with a half difficult climb and Pog smashes the field. Even on flat(ish)parcours like Roubaix it came down to a mistake and crash by pog to definitively crown mvdp. MSR is the only one that Pog probably won't win.kevpt10-10-2025
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